


Yotsuba no kurōbā

by GodOfToast



Category: Naruto
Genre: A lot happier than it sounds, Anxiety Disorder, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Its actually pretty gay if im honest, Mental Health Issues, Nonbinary Character, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), References to Suicide, Self-Insert, never trust me, or dont, panromantic character, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-09 07:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12272133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodOfToast/pseuds/GodOfToast
Summary: Ryuu doesn't like violence, or being reborn. Even before they were old enough to understand it, it was really really weird. They just have to hope they're lucky enough to survive and not have a mental breakdown in the middle of a fight.





	1. The (very) Early Years

     Ryuunosuke’s earliest memory was of pain and a soothing warmth. They sobbed into the surrounding warmth. The pain was in their head, but they were so small it seemed to go through their whole body. A Voice shushed them and the Warmth stroked their short curls. The Voice sighed and began to sing. It was low and rumbling, like the purring of a large cat. The Warmth and singing was soothing, and they fell asleep.

     Yumi doesn’t remember this night specifically. It was one of many when her child would cry inconsolably until she sung them to sleep.

 

     The headaches didn’t stop as they got older, but they became more infrequent. The headaches came with the memories. The memories were always there, but they didn’t hurt unless Ryuu focused on them. Still, they couldn’t go outside without a memory being yanked to the forefront of their mind. Their mother, tried everything to soothe them. She sung and shushed, and yelled until finally giving up.

 

     Ryuu was speaking simple sentences by a year, and reading by two. Yumi, their mother, joked that Ryuu was a genius when she found out. Ryuunosuke objected to this.

 

     “Not genius. Geniuses learn stuff good. Ryuu just knew already.” That was the truth too. They already knew much of hiragana, and their young brain combined with the knowledge they had made learning a quick task. Yumi got an explanation not long after during one of Ryuunosuke’s headaches.

 

     “Mama?” they waddled over to her  


     “Yes Ryuu?” Yumi looked up from her koto.  


     “Head hurts.” They whimpered and lay their head on her lap.

 

     She sighed and picked them up and held them close to her chest. “Oh baby…” Yumi trailed off. The few doctors she could afford had all assured there was nothing wrong with Ryuunosuke, and that he was as healthy as any baby their age.

 

     “Don’t like remembering.” They muttered into her chest. She went still. Ryuu listened her heart beating, the steady rhythm drumming through their skull, throbbing with the pain in their head that, if it didn’t help, focused it into a pattern.

 

     “Remembering what?” Yumi asked.

 

     “Me. Other time?” Their furrowed their little eyebrows, trying to make sense of all the information floating around their tiny mind.

 

     “It was a dream sweetie.” Yumi cooed, stroking their hair. “It’s just bad dreams.”  


     “I was older, and sad. I was very sad and scared a lot.” They felt tears prick at the corners of their eyes. “I was so sad! I wanted-” they stopped, unable to continue as a sob shook their body. Yumi sighed and held Ryuunosuke until they stopped crying, hushing and humming in equal parts until they calmed down.

 

     “How about Mama plays the koto for you, and then when I go out for groceries later I’ll get you a book to write these memories down in? How does that sound?”

     Ryuu looked up at their mother with wide eyes, already enchanted by the thought of music. “Koto! Koto!” they said, clapping their hands, a wide grin spreading across their tear stained face.

 

     The apartment was small and cheaply furnished, everything second-hand and the newest of their possessions had seen better days. This excluded one corner of Yumi and Ryuunosuke’s shared room. This corner held musical instruments that, while scuffed and aged, were all well-crafted. The koto, which was Yumi’s second greatest treasure (when they asked the first she’d laughed and attacked them with tickles. “You of course!”), even had the image of cherry blossoms carved into the wood. She placed them on the floor as she put their hand over her’s and showed them how to create music.  


     “You know if you were a girl I would have named you Kotone.” She remarked off handedly.  


     “Ko… to… ne?” They pouted. They liked Kotone more than Ryuunosuke. It was pretty and musical.

 

     “Mhm! Kotone! Can you guess why?” Ryuu pointed immediately to the koto.

  

     “Exactly!” Yumi said with a laugh, then, pinched their cheek. “Why so grumpy?”  


     “Mama?” Ryuu asked, looking up at Yumi.

 

     “Yes Ryuu?”  


     “Mama pretty. Will Ryuu be pretty too?” they looked up at their mother. Yumi was more than pretty. She was a fairly young mother, only twenty-two when Ryuunosuke was born. Her hair fell in long, soft curls a pinkish sunset orange. Her purple eyes always seemed to twinkle as if she knew something you didn’t, and her skin was a warm olive tone. Ryuunosuke on the other hand was pale as a ghost, with hair that couldn’t decide between red or purple, and could look either depending on the lighting. Their eyes were unlike their mother’s as well, as they were a soft gold color. Only time would tell if their features resembled Yumi’s, but already they had the same laughing look to their eyes. That made them happy.

 

     “If you take after me. Who knows what your father looked like, he could be hideous!” She teased, her smile pulling stronger on her right side than left. Ryuu pouted. They never asked about their father. They didn’t really care.

 

     “Mamaaa.” Ryuunosuke whined.

 

     “Ryuunosuke, you are the most beautiful child I could have been given.” She said, and planted a kiss on Ryuunosuke’s head. “How about I teach you the biwa first?”

     After that day Ryuunosuke could go outside. Rather than screaming they hummed to themself the tunes that their mother had begun teaching them. The memories still hurt, but having the music made it better.

 

      And then they met Auntie.

     Auntie was a lot like Mama, except not at all. Auntie was louder, her voice was smoother and lighter, and she was redder. Auntie always brought with her a nagging memory. Ryuunosuke didn’t know why until they heard their name. They screamed as it felt like someone took a cleaver to their skull, but even so they clung to Kushina’s leg and wept.

 

     “Don’t die Auntie.” They repeated over and over until they fainted from exhaustion. Kushina laughed it off and put them to bed.

 

      “It was scary Yumi.” She confessed once the other woman got home. “I thought he was going to die, and then he begged me not to die like he was already sure of it dattebane!” Yumi frowned.

 

     “Ryuu says.. That he just knows things. He said something about another time where they were older. I’m sure he just has a very active imagination. You know he can read already right? I’m sure he just reads and confuses things.” Kushina laughed uncomfortably.

 

“Yeah you’re right dattebane.” She said. And that was the end of it for now.

 

* * *

 

     “So my friend Mikoto has a son just around Ryuunosuke’s age, a few months older I think.” Kushina suggested to Yumi one day. “Apparently he’s a genius, but doesn’t have too many friends.” Ryuu looked up from their picture book, listening intently. They knew that name. Mikoto… Mikoto… Uchiha? The Uchiha’s were important, they knew that. Uchiha meant Sasuke and Itachi. Genius… Mikoto. Definitely Itachi then. Maybe. Itachi was important because Sasuke was important, but for some reason Itachi’s name made them feel sad.

 

     “So… are you suggesting a playdate?” Yumi asked, taking a sip of her tea. For an Uzumaki she was always remarkably reserved in her energy and manners. Well, it seemed that way until you noticed her constantly tapping her foot or bouncing her leg.

 

     “Yup! I think it’s a great idea dattebane! I’ve already told her all about Ryuu and how adorable he is and that it’d be great for him to go make some friend since he doesn’t get out much.” Kushina grinned like this was a genius plan. Somewhat sinisterly, Ryuu noted. They did not like that look.

 

    And that’s how three-year-old Ryuunosuke came to be staring down a four-year-old Itachi.

 

    “Ryuu, this is Itachi!”

 

     Ryuunosuke looked him over, staring very silently. Itachi fidgeted under their gaze.

 

     “Is something wrong?” Mikoto whispered to Kushina  


     “Shhhh! He’s making a decision ttebane. He does this with some people” She whispered back

 

     Ryuunosuke was in fact making a decision. They were digging up every memory, every bit of information they had attached to that name as they stared at Itachi intently. Itachi was Sasuke’s brother… Where was Sasuke? No, Itachi was much older than Sasuke. Ryuu could feel their head beginning to throb, but they pushed it back. They stood there in silence for a full three minutes before Ryuunosuke threw their arms around the older boy with an exclamation of “Tachi-tan!” Kushina and Mikoto sighed with relief as Itachi struggled and panicked. He gave his mother a pleading look, but she just exchanged a look with Kushina and chuckles.

 

     “Ryuunosuke is around your age, so play nice Itachi.”

 

     “Hey, Tachi-kun! What do you like to do? Ryuu likes to play the koto with Mama, and the biwa, but reading is fun too! What does Tachi-kun like to read?” Ryuu asked, snuggling closer to their new friend. Who wasn’t reacting much. Was he in shock? They pulled back and looked at Itachi. Yup, definitely in shock.

 

     “Tachi-tan.. Tachi… Itachi-kun!” They poked his nose. That seemed to snap him out of it.

 

     “Well.. I mostly train with my father. And… I like history and poetry.” Itachi answered softly, rather unsure.

 

     “We should read together! And you can help me with my ninja training! I don’t go outside much.” Ryuu released Itachi for a moment before grabbing his hand and pulling him to the playground. “Come on! We can play ninja!” They said. And so they played ninja for the rest of the afternoon.


	2. Ramen?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its pure fluff guys, with maybe a little plot

     “I like your eyes.” Ryuunosuke said, taking a bite of their dango.

 

     “Huh?” Itachi looked over at them.

 

     “Your eyes! They’re really nice. They’re so pretty and deep and dark. They remind me.” They reminded Ryuu of their own eyes. Not their yellow gold eyes, but those memories of having large dark eyes with long eyelashes. They loved those eyes, that had been like Itachi’s. Though theirs had been dark brown. It was a nice feeling to look in his eyes and immediately recognize them without it hurting. Throughout everything, they’d always loved their eyes.

 

     “Your mom’s having a baby soon right? He’ll have the same eyes as you. Except, yours will always be gentler.” They mused. It was a nice day. Konoha was always very warm and sunny, with mild winters that only got snow in the coldest month or two. It made them long for the world they knew where the winters were deep and cold. Well except when it rained. Though sun showers weren’t that uncommon… Ryuu liked sun showers. Sun shower sun flower. They giggled.

 

     “How do-” He was cut off by a shout from beneath their tree.

 

     “Ryuunosuke Uzumaki, stop kidnapping Itachi!” Kushina yelled up.

 

     “You don’t control my life Auntie!” Ryuunosuke yelled down from the tree, hugging Itachi’s arm.

 

     “Like hell I don’t! Get down here brat dattebane!” Kushina yelled. Whoop, there it was.

 

     “Bye Tachi-tan!” Ryuu jumped from the tree and made a break for it. They’d never been a trouble maker before, but they had so much energy now, they couldn’t help but always want to run and do things and laugh. That energy would be a problem in the academy, they knew. Chakra control too… They wanted good chakra control. Kushina chased after them, not entirely in earnest. Ryuu knew that she could catch up to them anytime she wanted, their four-year-old legs still wobbly and not supplemented by chakra.

 

     “Got you ttebane!” Kushina tackled Ryuu. They went limp in her grasp and dramatically stuck their tongue out.

 

    “Bleeehhh, I’m dead.”

 

     “Oh reeeally.” Kushina snorted and began to tickle them. Ryuu was not amused. They had never been ticklish, and didn't much care for it.

 

     “Auuuunnntie.” They whined.

 

     “Okay fine. I don’t have another mission for the rest of the week and Yumi’s got a lot of hours to work, so you’re staying with me for a few days dattebane!” Kushina said with a grin. Ryuunosuke immediately perked up.

 

     “Are we gonna eat ramen? Can I finally meet your husband? Oh, can we get pork buns? Or barbeque! Mama keeps making vegetables, I hate them!” They stuck out their tongue at the last one. Foods they were having the most trouble adjusting too. They’d be hesitant to eat something because of memories of stomach pain and nausea, only to find that nothing happened. Different foods, textures, flavors, it threw them off and they avoided things without really knowing why. Their favorites ended up being foods that did not come with this baggage, so mainly meat.

 

    “Yes, yes, maybe, and you still need to eat your vegetables Ryuunosuke-chan.” She grinned and poked their forehead.

 

    “Bleeeehhhh- Oh!” they gasped, noticing something in the grass. “Auntie look!” It was a four leafed clover. They picked it and held it up to Kushina’s face.

 

    “That’s amazing dattebane! You must be pretty lucky.” Kushina pinched their cheek and Ryuu made a face.

 

    “I’m gonna put it in a book and give it to Tachi-tan.” Kushina’s eyes widened.

 

     “We forgot about Itachi.” She said.

 

    “Oops.”

 

* * *

 

 

    “Uncle Minato!” Ryuunosuke launched themself at the Hokage with all force of a four-year-old Uzumaki torpedo. Right into his stomach.

 

    “Nice to meet you too.” Minato smiled… grimaced? As the child knocked the wind out of him.

 

   “Kushina’s told me a lot about you Ryuunosuke-kun.” Ryuunosuke clung to Minato’s stomach, their legs dangling as they were too small to reach the ground.

 

    “Are you gonna get ramen with us tonight? Are you? I can’t believe Auntie married the Hokage! Your hair is pretty, its made of sunshine!” At this Minato chuckled and ruffled Ryuu’s hair, kneeling down to set them back on the ground. Just in time too, their arms were getting tired.

 

    “Yes, we’re all getting ramen together.”

 

* * *

 

    “Ryuunosuke, the real reason we wanted you here for dinner with us is-” Ryuunosuke cut Kushina off before she could finish.

 

    “You’re pregnant! I knew it was only a matter of time! Wait, does this mean I’m getting a little brother like Itachi?” Ryuunosuke gasped.

 

     “Don’t interrupt dattebane!” Kushina poked Ryuu’s forehead

 

    “Well you’re getting a cousin,” Minato corrected gently, “and it’s too soon to tell whether it’ll be a boy or girl yet.” It’d be a boy, they knew. The pregnancy was just a countdown until they lost their dear aunt and uncle. And there was nothing they could do about it. So they smiled and pretended not to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a beta! Thanks for all the people who left kudos (looking at you CannibalisticApple, i'm following your fic, notice me senpai ;-;). So I guess a little plot got done? Maybe? I don't know what i'm doing. please comment what you think and what i could be doing better!


	3. Chapter 3

“Hi Auntie Mikoto!” Ryuunosuke ran in threw the open door and hugged Mikoto’s legs.

 

“Where’s Itachi?”

 

“Oh Ryuunosuke!” Mikoto laughed. “He’s out training with Fugaku, what did you need him for?” This made Ryuunosuke scowl. It was their opinion that Itachi was too young to take things this seriously.

 

“I want to play! That’s okay, right Auntie?” They looked up with big shining puppy eyes that usually got them their way with Auntie Kushina. Mikoto nodded and ruffled their curls.

 

“They’re out back, go have fun.” Mikoto seemed to share this opinion that Itachi took too much on at once, and Ryuu admired her for that. Also her hair. She had really pretty straight hair that made Ryuu jealous since their own hair was a short mess of untamable red curls.

 

“Hi Mr. Uchiha, I’m gonna borrow Itachi for a while.” Before Fugaku could respond Ryuunosuke puffed up his cheeks with childish stubbornness and said. “Auntie Mikoto said it was okay, so he has to come play with me.” Ryuunosuke had long since figured out that Mikoto was the one really in charge. Also kind of evil, Ryuu blamed Kushina for that. They grabbed Itachi’s hand.

 

“C’mon!” They tugged his hand.

 

“B-but I need to train.” Itachi objected softly, and ultimately ineffectually. Ryuu snickered and pulled him along.

 

“We’re getting dango.” He shut up and followed.

                                  

Ryuu looked at the stand for a long time. They’d had dango before, well not recently, in the memories. In the memories dango tasted good but made their throat and stomach feel weird and sloshy, like they were gonna throw up. The memories hadn’t actually happened though, so maybe it was okay? Or maybe it would be bad again.

 

“Are you going to order hun?” The owner, a nice grandmotherly lady who scared Ryuunosuke less than the people at the tea houses Itachi’s family preferred. They hadn’t even noticed they’d reached the front of the line.

 

“Umm, maybe? Yes. Well uh..” They fumbled and looked at their feet, cheeks hot with embarrassment. “I’ve never had dango before. I don’t know if I’ll like it.”

 

She laughed. “Well how about I give you a sample so you can see how you feel about it?” the lady asked as she handed Ryuunosuke a stick of dango. They were skeptical, but… it was free. They sniffed it, which made the lady laugh, and took a bite. They chewed carefully and swallowed. It was sweet, and they realized it didn’t bother them.

 

“Its really good!” They exclaimed, and smiled with both surprise and yummy food. “I’d like.. ummm…” they looked through their allowance. “Lots!” and gave it to her.

 

“Here you go honey.” The lady handed Ryuu a pack of dango. Itachi practically chocked.

 

“You’re going to eat all that?” he asked incredulously

 

“Yeah… why?” Ryuu asked, inhaling the first stick of dango. Itachi simply shook his head, looking at them like their consumption of the dango was sacrilege of the highest order. Ryuu just hummed contentedly and leaned against Itachi.

 

_Dango dango dango dango my family._ The tune spun through their head with no distinct cause or origin, something they couldn’t place.

 

“What’s that?” Itachi asked.

 

Ryuunosuke blinked, they hadn’t realized they’d been mumbling the words as it came to them. “Well it’s the dango song I think.” They paused and creased their forehead. “That’s all I remember of it right now.” They frowned. Why couldn’t they remember? It wasn’t a really important thing, but something about it stuck in their head. Little snatches of songs came at random times and they could only remember the line, but it left them feeling unsatisfied. Everything about the Before memories was like that, sometimes they remembered things and sometimes they didn’t, and it was really really annoying. Itachi’s concerned look snapped them out of that line of thought, and they realized all the dango was gone, including three that they knew for a fact they didn’t eat. Ryuunosuke scowled, and then an idea struck them. A grin slowly covered their face.

 “Hey Itachi? Lets play a game. You tell me where my dango went and if I believe you I won’t try to tackle you.” Itachi stared for about a minute and then took off running without giving a response.

 

They chased after him “That’s cheating!” they yelled. No one took their food without paying the price.

 

A pair of hands caught them and lifted them off the ground. “Mind telling me why you were chasing Itachi halfway across the village?” Minato asked with a chuckle.

 

“He stole my dango!” Ryuu pointed an accusatory finger at Itachi, who had schooled his expression into classic Uchiha apathy. 

 

“Itachi did you steal Ryuunosuke’s dango?” Minato was barely holding back his laughter and Ryuunosuke felt rather indignant about the whole affair. They wanted to be put down first.

 

“Hn.” Itachi neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.

 

 “And you didn’t notice, Ryuu-chan?” He asked the child in his hands. Said child flushed hotly and took a careful study of the rocks paving this particular street. Minato sighed.

 

 “Well then you’re both at fault. If you’re ever going to be a good ninja you have to be vigilant and not let your dango be stolen.” Minato placed them gently back on the ground. “And Itachi you should never take dango from a teammate without asking.” Ryuunosuke’s embarrassment vanished and they stuck their tongue out at Itachi. Then they noticed the person standing at Minato’s side and hurriedly hid behind his leg. Minato laughed and ruffled Ryuu’s unruly curls.

 

“You haven’t met Kakashi before? Well Ryuunosuke this is Kakashi, he’s one of my students, and Kakashi this is Ryuunosuke. He’s Kushina’s younger cousin.” He stepped back and nudged the child towards Kakashi. Ryuu immediately looked at the ground, face pink.

 

“Yo.” Came a lazy greeting from Kakashi.

 

“Nice to meet y-“ At that moment they’d looked up and seen Kakashi’s masked face and were hit with instant recognition. The gray hair, the mask, the covered eye, he was the sparky sharingan guy! He was cool! Really really cool. A soft flush covered their face and they grinned and launched themself at Kakashi attaching themself to his leg.

 

“Kashi!” They shouted affectionately.

“Huh?” The gray haired jonin’s face, presumably, looked deadpan.

 

“You’re Kashi! I like Kashi! You’re really cool!” Minato snickered.

 

“You like Kakashi huh? How much do you like him?”

 

“I love Kashi! I love him a lot.” They said, stubbornly clinging to his leg as Kakashi tried to pry them off.

 

“Love him huh? How much? More than Itachi?” Minato asked, covering his mouth to hide his barely contained laughter.

 

“Lots and lots! I’m gonna marry him when I’m big! But uhh.. wait I love Itachi more…” They let go and Kakashi used his newfound freedom to jump onto a tree branch out of the reach of overly affectionate toddlers. “Umm.. Uh… Itachi can I marry Kakashi? But if I marry Kakashi I can’t love you more, cause married people are supposed to love each other most. Itachi, will you marry me?” Itachi blushed and sputtered, and Minato gave into the fits of laughter. Kakashi just looked down at the scene suspiciously.

 

“Ryuunosuke, you’re probably going to have to ask Itachi’s parents first.” Minato told them. “And I’m not sure your mother wants to lose you just yet.”

 

“But Itachi hasn’t even said yes or no yet? Itaaachi, what’re you gonna say?” they asked, face dead serious.

 

“Hn.” The Uchiha responded with more stoicness than a five-year-old should be able to muster.

 

“That’s not an answer!” They pouted and bounced over to poke their friend’s face.

 

“Maybe ask again when you’re both older.” Minato walked over and ruffled both children’s hair. “Didn’t you say last night you wanted to ask for Itachi’s help with throwing shuriken? Did you yet?” Ryuunosuke had in fact completely forgotten, and so empathically shook their head no.

 

“Then maybe you should run along then, me and Kakashi have places to be.” He winked at them playfully. “Official Hokage business, so don’t tell anyone you saw us.”

 

“What about Auntie Kushina?” Ryuunosuke asked, tilting their head. Minato paled a little.

 

“If she asks then its fine.”

 

“Well come on Itachi! I wanna learn how to throw a shuriken, its not fair if your dad teaches you but Mama can’t teach me.”

 

“Only if we can use a training field in the Uchiha district.”

 

“Acceptable. Race you there?”

 

Itachi nodded. “Hn.”

 

When they arrived at the training field both kids were out of breath, and Ryuunosuke’s sugar crash was catching up to them. It was a sunny day in early spring, the kind where the sun is bright and warm but the wind still has a chill. Ryuu blinked and rubbed their eyes. “Nap.”

 

Itachi looked up from gasping to catch his breath. “Huh?” Before he could say anything else he was tackled to the ground by Ryuunosuke.

 

“We’re taking a nap now.” They decided.

 

“But weren’t we going to-“

 

“Nap now, train later.” They yawned, and Itachi pushed them off him to flop to the side. It was the perfect day, at the perfect time for a nap, and they loved napping. They must have dozed off because when they woke up Itachi was there talking to someone.

 

“Hey Itachi introduce me to your friend! It looks like he’s waking up.” Ryuunosuke sat up and rubbed the sleep from their eyes. It was way past noon judging from the sun. Maybe three?

 

They yawned. “Tachi who is this?” They asked, focusing on the boy beside Itachi. He was clearly another Uchiha, maybe a year older, with short curly hair and similar looking eyes to Itachi.

 

“Shisui this is Ryuunosuke. Ryuu, this is Shisui.” When Itachi said the older boy’s name Ryuunosuke’s body began to shake. They knew that name. Shisui. They hadn’t known his face or voice, but they knew that name. Shisui, Shisui, death water, drowning, Danzo. Without realizing it tears ran down their face as their body was overwhelmed by memories they hadn't known they had, and lost consciousness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed because I just wanted to get this out. I actually enjoyed writing this and Ryuu made me laugh. Its still pretty difficult but its getting to be more fun now! also no, Ryuu is not being shipped with Itachi or Kakashi, Ryuu is 4 and doesn't know what they're talking about.


	4. Chapter 4

They awoke in a hospital bed, their mother leaning with her head in her arms, asleep from the rising and falling of her breathing.

 

“Mama?” They asked tentatively, putting a small hand on her arm. Yumi slowly opened her eyes, blinking the sleep from them and jolted awake, wrapping her arms around Ryuunosuke. Yumi wasn’t loud, but they could feel from the wetness of her cheeks and her subtle shaking that she’d been crying. “Mama what’s wrong?”

 

“Oh Ryuunosuke.” She held them close. “You wouldn’t wake up, I was so worried and all the doctors think you had a seizure.” Ryuu nestled themself closer to her and she stroked their hair. “I was so scared Ryuunosuke.”

 

“Mama something bad is gonna happen. Shisui…” At this point tears welled up in their eyes and they had to swallow the choking feeling in their throat. “Shisui’s gonna get hurt. And Itachi, and Auntie and Uncle. There’s a bad man, two of them. One of them is really old and the other one has a mask.” Yumi shook her head.

 

“They’re just dreams Ryuunosuke. They aren’t real. We have to talk to someone about these if that’s what caused this. You were unconscious for a day and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.” Something about that felt wrong, it wasn’t safe to tell anyone. Their mom was safe, but other people would tell Danzo, whoever Danzo was he was a bad man and he knew things.

 

“No!” Ryuunosuke shouted, Yumi’s eyes widened in alarm. Her normally perfect eyeliner was smudged and her hair was messy. They softened their tone. “No, Mama if we tell someone they’ll tell the bad man and he’ll take me away!” He wouldn’t take them like he took Shisui, he’d take them and make them a doll. If they were a doll they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone that Danzo was a bad man cause he’d put the weird thing on their tongue. Yumi sighed and pulled her child onto her lap.

 

“Alright, I won’t tell anyone. But promise me you won’t let this happen again?” She sounded tired, the rays of sunset causing her hair to glow with the golden light.

 

“I promise..”

 

“And after you’re discharged you’re staying at home to rest for a week at least, got it?” She said this sternly, though there was a light-hearted undercurrent. She was trying to lighten the mood and cheer them both up.

 

Their eyes widened. “What? But what about Itachi? I wanna see Itachi!” they whined. She tapped their nose.

 

“If you and Itachi really want to play then he’ll have to come over and play carefully inside. Maybe you can show him what you’ve been learning on the koto?” At this Ryuu’s eyes lit up.

 

“Yeah! Itachi can’t play the koto, I bet he’ll be super jealous!” They grinned and Yumi gave them a strained smile and stroked their hair.

 

“That’s my good boy.” 

 

* * *

 

 

The weeks passed quickly, and Kushina’s pregnancy progressed likewise. It was the beginning of October when Kushina left, with much whining from Ryuunosuke.

 

“Auntie Mikoto didn’t have to leave when she had Sasuke! Why does Kushina have to?”

 

“Well,” Yumi said, placing some apples in the shopping cart. “Mikoto went to the hospital to have her baby. But Kushina has a special chakra so she has to go to a special hospital.” Ryuu took about five minutes mulling this over.

 

“Yeah I guess that makes sense. Can we get some dango on the way home?”

 

“No, we’re having dinner at home tonight, you don’t want to spoil your appetite do you?”

 

“Yes!” Ryuunosuke said, puffing up their cheeks. “Cause I want dango!” Yumi laughed.

 

“Really? Even more than curry?” Curry was another thing that had bothered Ryuu’s tummy in the memories that they actually liked. It was yummy with lots of tastes and meat, and they liked the rice too. They thought this over for a while before nodding. It was acceptable. Kushina went away, this meant the masked man was coming. He was going to hurt her and Minato and make them go away forever. Yumi pulled their hand away from their mouth, and they stared at the bite marks. It was a habit in the memories to bite their hand when they were nervous about something, but before now it hadn’t carried over. Yumi gave them a stern look, but didn’t scold them and continued shopping and making small talk.

 

“Your birthday is in a few days; you can get as much dango as you want then.” She ruffled their hair and went back to examining some carrots.

 

“Really.” They said, giving her as skeptical a look as an almost five-year-old was capable.

 

“Would I lie to you?” She said, giving them a smile that looked very suspicious. They weren’t having it. They huffed and puffed up their cheeks.

 

“Yes!”

 

“So little faith in your own mother! You wound me Ryuunosuke. I would never lie to you about something as important as birthdays!” she held her hands over her heart as if wounded by a very dramatic arrow, and Ryuu snorted. They got the rest of their groceries and walked home. They were just cleaning up the dishes when there was a wave of something that felt like it was setting Ryuu’s blood on fire. Their last thoughts before passing out were “Ow” and “Not again”.

 

* * *

 

 

This time when they woke up in a hospital bed it was very different. For one thing, it was a lot more crowded. They were in a room with lots of other children and an IV hooked up to their arm. There was no crying Yumi by their bedside, and they felt… weird. Kind of like pins and needles. Maybe bugs crawling up and down their arms? Or flowing water. They couldn’t quite pin point it. After lying in bed and thinking they concluded it felt most like when you feel your heart beating or you suddenly become aware of your own breathing. But also if you were constantly aware of everyone else’s heartbeats too. It was sort of comforting in a way, the steady presence of everyone, but there was a tension in the air, so thick you could cut it with a kunai. A nurse ran in, looking disheveled and ragged with exhaustion.

“Uzumaki-Kun! I’m sorry I took so long we had a lot of patients and-” She cut herself off and ran her hands through her hair when she realized she was apologizing to a small child. “We were notified by the heart monitor you been uncon- err asleep since the Kyuubi. Invaded. How are you feeling?” They looked up at her slowly.

 

“What day is it?” They asked.

 

“October twenty-first.”

 

“I turned five over a week ago.” They realized. “Where’s Mama? And Uncle Minato and Aunt Kushina.”

 

“Your mother went home, visiting ended about an hour ago. The Hokage…” She was so exhausted, Ryuu could practically feel it themself, she had worked herself ragged trying to keep up with all the patients, and the caffeine high had long since crashed. They blinked, that was weird. “The Hokage gave his life to defeat the demon fox. Kushina Uzumaki passed away too. I’m sorry.” After determining that Ryuunosuke was okay the nurse hurried off, but judging by the certain sense of relief she had from leaving, Ryuu was the last patient she had to check on before her shift ended. They lay their head down and tried to go back to sleep. It wasn’t easy, the buzz of the other lives around them, the IV sticking out of their arm, and the fact they’d been sleeping for about two weeks didn’t help much. They felt empty, and spent the night tossing and turning until finally drifting off when the first light of dawn shown through the hospital windows. The next morning Yumi came in, another nurse took the IV out of their arm, and told them they were being discharged. Yumi hugged them close, and they were overwhelmed by a sudden sense of her. A feeling, it was warm, she reminded them of a fireplace with a wood burning fire on a cold snowy night. That things outside may be scary and bad but here it was safe, and when she reluctantly set them down to walk them home, they instead clung to her. She carried them the way, but the streets weren’t right. They weren’t to Ryuu and Yumi’s little apartment.

 

“This is the Uchiha district.” They said flatly. Yumi nodded.

 

“Our apartment was destroyed in the attack, so you’ll be staying with Itachi’s family until I find a new home for us. Won’t that be fun? You’ll get to see your friend.” She tried to put as much enthusiasm into it as she could, but the attempt still came out half-hearted and her eyes were ringed with red from crying. It didn’t sound fun, but they nodded anyway.

 

“Mama? What happened to Kushina’s baby?” Yumi stopped. She placed Ryuunosuke down and kneeled to be eye level with them.

 

“We’ll get him Ryuunosuke, I promise. We’re his family and they have no right to keep him from us. His name is Naruto, and if they don’t want to let us have him I’ll make them.” She took their hand. “Come on, I’m sure Itachi will be glad to see you. He was really worried you know.”

 

As soon as the door opened they were pulled into a hug by Itachi. It was that same feeling again, but Itachi was more like hot tea and gentle candlelight. That was the last straw, they sniffled and Yumi pulled them away from Itachi and into a hug of her own as they sobbed into her chest.

 

“I know.” She whispered to them. “I know.” Yumi bit her lip to keep her own tears at bay and Mikoto escorted her inside to the living room where Yumi sat on the couch with Ryuu curling into their side. Mikoto brought them some tea, and Itachi followed her around like a duckling with a worried expression on his face. Ryuu sniffed and wiped their wet cheek.

 

“Don’t make that face you’re getting wrinkles.” They told him crossly. Yumi laughed and wiped the tears from the other side of Ryuu’s face. “Are you going to be alright here tonight?” Ryuu nodded.

 

“I love you Mama.” They took her hand

 

“Love you too sweetheart.” She kissed their forehead. “But I have to go now.” She looked meaningfully at Mikoto. “Mind if I talk to you for a bit?”

 

“Of course.” Mikoto nodded. “Itachi why don’t you show Ryuu-chan to your room? And I’m sure he’d love to meet the cats, won’t you Ryuu-chan?” Ryuu nodded, they loved cats, but Yumi said they couldn’t have any until they were older. It was a week before Ryuu saw Yumi again. When she came back she looked disheveled and exhausted, but happier than they’d ever seen her and carrying a baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this at the same time as the last chapter, but I was hoping to get more done before posting it. Alas I have not, but I've dragged it out long enough.


	5. I have never disliked eight year olds so much before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuunosuke journeys into hell... aka school.

“Moooommmmmm.” Ryuunosuke ducked their head out from their mother’s hand. “You’re messing up my hair!” Yumi laughed, the kind where she snorts a little, and ran her fingers through Ryuunosuke’s hair in an attempt to tame the curls that’d come loose from their braid.

 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just so proud of you.” She chuckled and ruffled Ryuu’s hair up even more. The rebellious curls that Ryuu had spent two hours that morning trying to manipulate into a semblance of calm were all too happy to pop back up in defiance of gravity and their small owner.

 

“Mooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!” They whined. “Stooooopp.” Their voice raised two octaves and they drew it out in the most nasally and annoying way they and batted Yumi’s hands away. She just laughed and pulled them into a hug.

 

“Good luck with school today. You’re going to make a lot of friends and impress all the teachers.” She stroked their hair as if sensing their mood and kissed their forehead. “I promise, everything will be fine.” She said softly. Ryuunosuke swallowed the lump that had formed in their throat and nodded silently. The idea of school made them feel just plain bad, like they’d done something wrong. It was silly, they knew it should be silly, because this was their first day, but they were scared. It stirred the half remembered dreams of anxiety and failure and never being good enough. They buried their head in their mother’s shoulder.

 

“I don’t want to go.” They muttered. “It’s scary, and Itachi’s not gonna be with me, and I don’t know anyone else and… The dreams.” ‘The dreams’ is the name Ryuu had started calling the fuzzy memories. Dreams they could understand. While they became a little clearer every day, actually understanding them was too hard for a six-year-old, and part of them didn’t want to understand them. The dreams were, for the most part, empty and anxious. “They’re bad.”

 

Yumi sighed. “I know Ryuunosuke. But listen to me, even if you don’t make friends, if the teachers dislike you, and you get bad grades, no matter what happens, you won’t be alone. Ever. Because I’ll always be there for you and love you, and you’ve got Naruto and Itachi, and Sasuke.” This brought to mind Sasuke and Naruto’s first meeting, and a little flutter of amusement bubbled in their chest. It was truly a day to remember, pouts of hatred and aggressive gooing had resulted in the most epic of baby fights. Many binkies were lost that day, may they rest in peace.

 

“It… It’ll be alright… won’t it?” They looked up at their mother’s face with a pleading look.

 

“Yes, it will.” She smoothed down their hair and placed another kiss on their forehead. “And Naruto and I’ll be there during the entrance ceremony.” Ryuu slipped out of her arms and took a few steps towards the school. “Remember, you’re an Uzumaki, and even if we’re little now, we have a great legacy behind us.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Immediately after the entrance ceremony the Academy had a placement test. Most students were placed with others of their age range, as it judged not just ninja skills, but reading, writing, and mathematics too, but when it came to the written portion of the test, Ryuu found it almost easy. Somehow, they knew how to solve the problems for first years, and even the ones for older students. Even if they didn’t know all the kanji, they understood the complex topics for writing just fine. So, rather than being placed with the other children their age, they were placed in the one two years above. With a class of kids who already knew each other. And had predetermined groups of friends. Needless to say Ryuunosuke nearly fainted when they found out.

 

“Hello class. You should all know each other by now, but we have a new student joining us this year. Please introduce yourself Uzumaki.” Ryuu could feel everyone’s eyes turning to their small figure.

“Hello… I’m Ryuunosuke Uzumaki.” They swallowed their fear. Yumi said everything was going to be alright, and whatever she said was always right. “I’m Ryuunosuke Uzumaki, but everyone just calls me Ryuu! I hope we can all get along!” Most of the boys snorted or uninterested, but a gaggle of girls giggled amongst themselves with a few exclamations of “awww” or “how tiny” which made Ryuu flush from embarrassment and the indignant anger of all children when people suggest they aren’t grown up. They quickly ran to take the nearest empty seat, one near the front next to a white haired girl in a pretty kimono. She gave them a polite closed-mouth smile and moved her things to give them more room.

 

The rest of the day until lunch was lectures on what they’d be learning that year, they had taijutsu after, and then they could go home. At lunch the girls ambushed Ryuunosuke.

 

“So, Ryuu-chan,” Chan? Ryuu felt this as a blow to their young dignity. They may not have exactly been a boy, but they were definitely not a girl, and even if they were younger they were in the same class as this girl. “How old are you?”

 

“I’m six.” They answered.

 

“Awww, did you get moved up after your first year?”

  
  
“N-no, Mama wanted me to wait an extra year.”

 

“Do you have any siblings?”

 

“A little brother.”

 

“Awwwwwwwww..”

 

The questions continued to bombard them from all sides. The white haired girl they sit next to was in the group, but standing rather quietly. One of the other girls, with a ponytail, noticed her standing there.

 

“Ah, Shimizu-chan” The way she said the honorific was different from how she used it with Ryuu, while with Ryuu it was affectionate and condescending, with Shimizu it was sickly sweet and cloying. “I forgot my lunch in the classroom, could you get it for me?”

 

“But I…”

 

“Pleeeaase? Because we’re friends?” Shimizu nodded and walked back inside for the forgotten lunchbox, and ponytail girl’s expression immediately changed to one of childish disgust. “Ugh, I hate how that Kiri freak always sticks to us.” Then her attention turned to Ryuu. “You should leave her alone. Even if she seems nice she’s not, she was a huge bully our first year here. The only reason anyone’s nice to her is cause she’s rich.”

 

“Yeah!” another girl, with her hair in a short bob, chimed in. “Plus, her teeth are really freaky.”

 

“The only reason she does so well in classes is cause she’s got fancy tutors. My grades’d be as good as her’s.” At this point Ryuunosuke stopped listening. Shimizu never came back with the lunchbox, but Ryuu noticed ponytail eating lunch anyways. The girls spent the rest of the free period saying spiteful things about Shimizu. Ryuu resolved to get to the bottom of it tomorrow, but they would rather focus on surviving taijutsu with older kids, so they’d be able to make it to the promised ramen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually liked writing this one, I got into a flow!!! And I finally get to introduce one of Ryuu's future teammates so hey! Also Yumi is best mom. I'm gonna do a series of drabbles about her once I get everything established in YnK. Even though.. I may have.. already written two. Its a matter of spoiler okay!!!!


	6. Time Skips Galore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendship! Drama! Gender roles!

Ryuunosuke got to school early the next day. They got the feeling their seatmate was the punctual type, if her rumored grades were anything to go by. By the time Shimizu arrived Ryuunosuke had already set up for class. They waved enthusiastically.

 

“Good morning! We didn’t get to properly talk, I’m Ryuu!” They gave her a grin, which she returned with a polite smile.

 

“Good morning Ryuunosuke. My name is Tsukimi Shimizu; it is very nice to meet you.” Her speech was very polite, with all the grace of a princess, though, Ryuunosuke supposed being rich might as well be like being a princess. She was dressed well again today, though the kimono was one quite a bit shorter, and more specialized for moving around. Still, the pattern was really pretty and the material looked expensive.

 

“So, the other girls at lunch were saying some really mean things about you, are they true?”

 

“Well, it depends what they are.”

 

“They said you were a bully last year.”

 

“Yes, that’s true.”

 

“And that your family is rich, and also something about Kiri?”

 

“That is somewhat true as well. Both my parents were originally from the land of water, and are quite wealthy. Neither of them lived in the Hidden Mist though, and they’re civilians.”

 

“Did… did you know they were saying this about you?”

 

“I did.”

 

“And you don’t care?” A dark look crossed her face.

 

“It’s true, isn’t it? Besides…” a wide smirk spread across her face revealing sharp, rather shark like teeth. “It’s funny, they get even angrier if I pretend like I don’t care. Their faces turn red.” Ryuunosuke felt a chill go down their spine. It wasn’t so much her words or the scary teeth, but the way she said it. Her very tone seemed to convey that they were nothing, and never would be anything, that Tsukimi was something greater. Ryuu steeled themselves. They knew what must be done.

 

“Hey, Tsuki, let’s be friends!” Tsukimi just stared at them with wide eyes, blinking faster in her confusion. “Those girls don’t like you, and I don’t like them, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend!”

 

“I get that… but Tsuki?” Ryuu just beamed.

 

“The moon is pretty, and you’re pretty, so Tsuki! Also, all my friends get nicknames.” They bounced a little in their seat. So close, now all she had to do was agree. Tsukimi laughed, covering her mouth with the long sleeve of her kimono.

 

“Alright, alright. I guess it’s not fair if only one of us has a nickname.” Ryuu nearly jumped out of their seat. Yes! Powerful ally acquired! “But you’ll have to practice taijutsu with me.” They immediately came crashing down. “I saw you yesterday, you got your butt kicked.”

 

“That- that’s just cause I’m not used to fighting people bigger than me! My usual sparring partner is my size!” Tsukimi laughed and flicked Ryuu’s nose

 

“You’re gonna be fighting people bigger than you all your life squirt, better get used to it.”

 

“S-squirt?” Ryuu exclaimed indignantly. By this time the other students had started piling into the classroom, but neither of them had noticed.

 

“Yup. You’re short.”

 

“Am not, you’re just big!” Big was, all in all, not the wrong word to describe Tsukimi. She was the tallest in the class, and had a heavier build than the rest which she had chosen not to combat with dieting, not to mention she had no small amount of muscle for a girl her age. All in all, Tsukimi was a mountain, and sparring against her would be hell.

 

“Hey!” One of the group that had surrounded Ryuunosuke stormed up to the table in a huff. “Shimizu are you bullying Ryuu-chan too?”

 

“I-“

 

“No!” Ryuunosuke cut Tsukimi off, leaping out of their chair and wrapping their arms around her. They braced themself. The moment they touched her they could feel her chakra moving beneath her skin. It was like a storm battering against seaside cliffs, like the strike of lighting, of waves that would crush a ship easily against the rocks. “Tsuki is my friend!” It was a spring storm, the kind that fed the crocuses when they were just starting to try to poke their way through the ground. In a way, it reminded them a lot of Itachi, except opposite. It was perfect. Tsukimi was their friend.

 

 

A few weeks passed, and Ryuu began to notice that Tsukimi left school later than they did. It was mostly a pain because they trained together after school, and Ryuu had to wait an extra hour with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs and make flower crowns, and flower crowns never survived taijutsu practice. So they made up their mind to ask.

 

“Hey Tsuki?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why do you leave school so late?” this made Tsukimi sigh.

 

“Kunoichi classes. The girls all have to take them.”

 

“Kunoichi classes? What’s that? What do you learn? Why can’t boys do it?”

 

“I guess there’s nothing stopping boys from taking them if they want, but its pretty dull. Flower arranging, traditional dancing, stuff like that. I already know all of it, and no one takes it seriously, so its boring.”

 

“I wanna learn flower arranging!”

 

Evidently, there was something stopping boys from taking kunoichi classes. Namely, the teachers.

 

“W-what? But… Kunoichi classes are for girls, future kunoichi!” Their homeroom instructor said when Ryuunosuke asked. He had really choked at the question, Ryuu was pretty sure he turned blue before he sputtered out the boring answer, unfortunately surviving his confusion. “Why do you want to take them?” Ryuu pouted.

 

“It’s not fair the girls get to learn cool stuff and I don’t! I wanna learn!” They’d yelled.

 

“Well, you can’t, I mean…”

 

“Are there rules against it?”  
  
“Well I… You can’t, and that’s all we’re saying on the subject.” At least Tsukimi got a good laugh out of the instructor and Ryuu’s pain.

 

“Tsukimi!” Ryuu latched onto her as they were walking home.

 

“No.”

 

“But you don’t even know what I wanted yet! Come on, at least listen to me.”

 

“Alright, what is it?”

 

“I need you to help me get into the kunoichi classes!”

 

“Why are you so obsessed with that anyways?” Ryuu’s face flushed and they looked down at the ground before muttering out their answer.

 

“I like flowers and pretty things. I wanna learn about them too. And how to dance, and be pretty and graceful like you and Mama.” They mumbled, and hid their face in her arm. Tsukimi sighed and pet their hair.

 

“Fine, what’s your plan?”

 

The plan was, as Tsukimi put it, not very well thought out, and only worked by some stroke of luck. Ryuu had simply walked into class with Tsukimi and acted as if they’d always been there, and much to their delight the kunoichi teachers hadn’t even batted an eyelash. One of them had however pulled them aside after class.

 

“Uzumaki, you know if you just walk in I can’t actually grade you for this. You’re not officially in this class.” She’d sounded rather concerned about this detail. “As long as you behave I’ll let you stay but…”

 

“It’s okay! I get to spend time with Tsukimi, and learn secrets the other boys don’t!”

 

The teachers just shrugged, so while no grade appeared on their report card, they otherwise were treated like a normal student. The year went past without much else of note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this last night after the last chapter, and though it would be best to publish it right away! Feedback is always appreciated, it feeds me.


	7. Everything's Okay.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuunosuke spends some time babysitting, and some time sparing. Not in that order.

“We’ll be graduating soon; you can’t keep dodging like this forever.” Tsukimi said as she landed a kick right in Ryuunosuke’s stomach and sent them flying. In the years they’d been in school together Tsukimi had decided that Ryuu was her favorite sparring partner. Not because they were any good, they were too cautious with their strikes, but because no one can take a hit like an Uzumaki. Ruptured appendixes are a serious issue, and that meant she couldn’t go all out against her classes. Ryuu clutched their stomach and stood up. That was gonna bruise.

 

“Well obviously.” They said as she pushed forward and they took the defensive again. Tsukimi just rolled her eyes at their response. “Besides, it’s not a big deal. My grade isn’t that low!”

 

She snorted. “Please, the only person you can actually beat in a spar is Isamu. For a genius, you really suck at it.” Ryuu dodged a punch and held up a hand to pause.

 

“Wait who’s Isamu again?” It’s not that they’d purposely not learned their classmate’s names, it was more that they couldn’t put the name to a face without seeing it when they didn’t really care about it.

 

“Isamu Uchiha? Like, deadlast in our class? Had to be held back a year because he sucked so much?” Ryuu just continued to stare blankly. Tsukimi smiled. “Cute freckles, brown hair? Kinda lanky?” It hit them.

 

“Oooooooooooh! That Isamu! He’s really quiet and always in the corner so I didn’t notice.” Wait was that? No, it couldn’t be. “Hey Tsukimi… You seem to know an aawwful lot about him.” She sputtered and her punch hit them right in the solar plexus.

 

“Sh-shut up and get back to sparing.” Ryuunosuke once again went flying, but this time they caught themself. Landing wrong and hurting themself was more frightening to them than getting hit, after all a misplaced rock was far less forgiving than a fist. They ran at Tsukimi and threw a punch, one she didn’t even bother to avoid. “Oh come on that’s just pathetic, we both know you can hit harder than that.” She sighed and sat down cross-legged on the ground. “So, what’s up.”

 

Ryuunosuke joined her on the ground. “Huh? I don’t understand the question”

 

“You’re fine on the dummies, but when it comes to sparring you are the worst. What’s up with that?” Ryuu flushed. Were they really that obvious? “I mean, you could always try a weapon if taijutsu doesn’t suit you… something with range since you’re still small...” Ryuu’s mind was elsewhere at this point. They were remembering the feeling of the sleek wooden handle in their hand, the rush when they released an arrow, how excited they were the first time they hit a bullseye. “Something like a-”

 

“Bow.”

 

“I was going to say naginata, but sure I guess bow too. Wanna come over for dinner tonight? I’ve got a couple at home.”

 

“Sorry, I’ve got to watch Naruto tonight,” Oooohhh that sounded weird. “Mom’s got a date! She’s leaving around… wait what time is it?” The sun had reached that golden tone it got just before sundown. “Crap I’m gonna be late! See you tomorrow Tsuki!” They jumped up, turned on their heel and ran.

 

“Language!” She shouted after them.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ryuunosuke!” Yumi swept her son up in her arms as if they weren’t a sweaty 8 year old who was fastly getting too big to comfortably carry. “How’d sparing go?”

 

Ryuu rolled their eyes “Tsuki kicked my-” Yumi cleared her throat and gave a pointed look at Naruto, who was drawing either at, or on the coffee table, it was hard to tell from Ryuu’s angle, probably not even paying attention. Still, Yumi was strict with cursing around him. “Butt! She kicked my butt. I’m definitely gonna have bruises.”

 

“Hah, butt.” Whoops, definitely listening.

 

Yumi just laughed, whether at Ryuunosuke or Naruto they weren’t sure. “Well at least one of you is improving their taijutsu.” Ryuu snorted indignantly, prompting another round of laughter. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” She placed Ryuu on the ground and took a step back, showing off her outfit. “How do I look?”

 

Ponytail, black sleeveless turtleneck, cute black skirt. Yup, Ryuu approved. “Ready to take souls and ruin lives!” They gave her the thumbs up with a wide grin. She snorted.

 

“Honestly I don’t know where you get these things.” She paused and kneeled to be eye level with them. “You’ll really be alright on your own?”

 

“Yup!” they gave her a smile, not like their usual overly enthusiastic grins, but rather a soft one, somehow a look older and sadder than belonged on a child’s face. “I’ll be fine Mom, I’m alright on my own.” Yumi hugged them quick, pulling them into her chest as if trying to guard Ryuu from the entire world. Then she stood let go and walked to the door.

 

“Well, wish me luck! And don’t burn the house down.”

 

“Bye Mom!” Ryuunosuke said. Naruto ran over and hugged Yumi’s legs.

 

“Buh-bye!” She ruffled his hair and left without another word.

 

Ryuunosuke shook their head and placed their normal chipper smile on their face. “Okay Naruto? Are you ready?”

 

“For wha?”

 

“Homework!”

 

The resulting chase lasted half an hour.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Naruto, what do you want for dinner?” Ryuu asked, only half paying attention as they looked through the kitchen cabinets.

 

“Ramen!” Ryuunosuke groaned. Of course ramen. A toddler could make instant ramen. Well, Naruto couldn’t, but thats because Yumi wouldn’t let him use the stove. Ryuunosuke however could make instant ramen with their eyes closed.

 

“Again? Are you sure?” They asked. They already knew the answer, but it was worth a shot.

 

“I want ramen!” there was a short pause before he added. “Please?” Well.. no helping it. Ryuu had their back to him, but they were pretty sure he was looking at them with big sparkly blue eyes. Well at least they could spruce it up with an egg or something, and it saved effort.

 

“Alright, alright.” They set the water boiling and took a can of catfood from the fridge. Mochi was a calico japanese bobtail, and while technically she lived with them, it was more like she wandered in and out of the house. She’d slipped out a window when Ryuu and Naruto had been doing homework, but she was always back by bedtime to cuddle up with someone, so they weren’t worried. They dumped the food in the dish and waited for the water to boil.

 

Dinner was a modest affair of small talk and jokes over instant ramen, talking about their respective days and favorite manga. Naruto had spent the day with Sasuke, so had a near endless supply of things to talk about. In fact, he’d talked all throughout dinner, his bath, and getting into his pajamas.

 

“Alright Naruto,” they booped his nose. “Time to get some sleep.” He pouted and crossed his arms.

 

“No.”

 

“Naru-”

 

“I’m not sleeping until Mommy gets home.” It was a bit of a tradition, every single time Yumi was out for an evening, Naruto would try to stay up until she got home, with varying degrees of success. Luckily Ryuunosuke was prepared for such an event.

 

“Hmmm… so I guess you don’t want to hear the next part of the story then.” They tapped their cheek and tried to look thoughtful.

 

“W-what?” Naruto’s eyes widened and he dropped his arms to his side. Bingo.

 

“If you don’t go to bed now you’ll be too tired to listen to the rest of the story when Mom gets home, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” This got him weighing his options carefully.

 

“Mmmmmmmmmmmm… fine.”

 

“And then the princess turned back into a duck and…” he’d been quiet for a long time, Naruto was finally asleep. Even when Yumi was home, Naruto had trouble sleeping, and Ryuu had no doubt it was somehow linked to Kurama or how the villagers treated him like he was an unstable bomb. There was a soft tap on the window and a meow.

 

Ryuu stood up and opened the window. “Hey Mochi, how was your night?” Mochi didn’t respond, but simply rubbed against Ryuu and purred. They smiled. “Good huh?” She jumped from the windowsill and trotted out the door, probably to the kitchen. Ryuu sighed and got ready to sleep, and climbed up the ladder to the top bunk. As soon as they were under the blanket, Mochi scaled the ladder and was nuzzling into the crook of their leg purring. They closed their eyes and waited.

 

It seemed like an eternity had passed when they heard the bedroom door creak, and a sliver of light peeked out. They flinched, but didn’t open their eyes. They wondered if Yumi knew they weren’t sleeping, they hoped not. She already knew how they woke up most nights. The door closed, and Mochi purred more aggressively. They lay listening until it finally lulled them to sleep.

 

As far as Ryuunosuke knew, they’d always had strange dreams. They couldn’t say for certain, their memories from before were hazy, with large gaps missing and details often falling through the cracks, but they were almost certain they’d had weird dreams. So when they tried, and failed to buy a crepe in their dream for the eighth dream in a row, and chased a cat onto a farm in order to get back their undead demon boyfriend from the dinosaurs, everything was pretty par for the course. What they didn’t expect was the emptiness they felt as soon as they ran into the field. It was sunny and warm, with healthy green plants all around them. There was no reason that it should make them feel so sad. There was no reason they should wake up to Yumi running into the room and pulling Ryuu close to them. No reason she should have to rock them back and forth like a baby while whispering “Its okay, its okay.” to them over and over again. No reason for their face to be wet with tears. Almost every night they woke up like this, feeling as if they’d lost something. Grieving over someone they didn’t know. And every day the bags under Yumi’s eyes grew deeper. But this time Ryuunosuke didn’t cry themself back to sleep in her arms. Instead, the tugged on her shirt and looked up at their mother’s face. She looked exhausted, her eyes shining with unshed tears and worry.

 

“Mama?” they asked softly. “Can… we have a garden this spring?” They buried their face back in her shoulder, but they thought Yumi nodded. “I want to grow tomatoes. And flowers, like big sunflowers. They’re so happy looking.” There was a warm hand petting their hair, and at that moment, it was the only thing they needed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always have a lot of fun writing Yumi, I just love her so much??? Leave a comment, and hit me up on the discord server! Its mostly just chatting about random shit.


	8. Rewrite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna rewrite this.

Hi guys, Toast here. I just wanted to let you know that I am really not happy with what I've done on this fic and I'm in the process of rewriting it. Sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment to anyone who was actually waiting for a new chapter. I've been taking a writing class since I started this, and have worked through much of my anxiety tied to writing, so at this point I think I could do a lot better. Thank you for reading, and thank you in advance for understanding.


	9. Rewrite

Hey peeps, for those who don't know, I've published the first chapter of the rewrite, now called Shiroibara! Have a lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> I made a discord so I can communicate with people more directly! Come talk to me about shit. https://discord.gg/Vqwjy5J


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